Data acquisition and encoding process for manufacturing, inspection, maintenance and repair of a structural product

ABSTRACT

A method is provided that includes generating a report template usable to produce a report to convey information about a structural product or one or more of a plurality of parts thereof, rendering for display. A model of the structural product is observed from a home viewpoint. Input is received to navigate the model to a part selected from the plurality of parts, the model at the navigated viewpoint including information for the part selected from the plurality of parts. A command string is generated that includes information specifying the navigated viewpoint. The command string is output to a recorder configured to record the command string on at least one of a physical medium or to an electronic document in which the command string is thereby included, the command string capable of being machine-read to automatically restore the model at the navigated viewpoint.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to manufacturing, inspection,maintenance and repair of a structural product and, in particular, to adata acquisition and encoding process for manufacturing, inspection,maintenance and repair of a structural product.

BACKGROUND

Many modern manufactured systems and other structural products such asaircraft have extensive maintenance requirements and data records.Current maintenance data systems allow technicians to retrieve technicalmanuals and other maintenance information for a system type being workedon in portable computer or handheld computing devices for ease of accessto necessary information. Many systems additionally include recordedmaintenance information specific to the exact system being examined.This allows technicians access to necessary information without havingto leave the work area to view manuals, data records or computerterminals with the desired information.

Quality issues are frequently identified during the aircraft productionbuild cycle. The first step in resolving the issue is to accuratelydocument the issue, which often includes identifying facts such as theparts involved, the location in the aircraft coordinate system andinstallation authority. Just finding part numbers and relaying thatinformation to others is a difficult and time-consuming task. Forexample, once an issue is identified, a user must begin exploring theengineering documentation to look up the necessary information. Thiscould require spending hours to find and validate the information due tothe large amount of engineering definition required for a largecommercial aircraft. A significant number of the documented issues haveincorrect or missing information or are duplications because of thedifficulties in accurately collecting the required information. Whenthis happens, the issue reports must be routed back to the initiatorsfor correction. This overall process is time consuming and can result insignificant delays during the build cycle when any disruption couldresult in delayed deliveries.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure is generally directed to manufacturing,inspection, maintenance and repair of a structural product and, inparticular, to data acquisition and encoding for manufacturing,inspection, maintenance and repair of a structural product. Inaccordance with example implementations, a user of a digital 3D modelviewer may identify a part of a structural product (e.g., aircraft) at aspecific 3D location, then save that information in machine-readableformat, and record the formatted information on some physical medium orelectronic document at the point-of-use. A user may later return to thatlocation, read the machine-readable information from the physical mediumor electronic document and bring their computer system to the same stateacquired by the initial user. This may save time for repeat visits tothe location, since the follow-on users do not need to perform thelocation and identification steps again. It also reduces the possibilityof data transcription errors.

Example implementations of the present disclosure may have benefit in anumber of different use cases, including airplane-on-ground (AOG),emergent removal (ER) and non-conformance (NC). The present disclosurethus includes, without limitation, the following exampleimplementations.

Some example implementations provide a method comprising generating areport template usable to produce a report to convey information about astructural product or one or more of a plurality of parts thereof;rendering for display, a model of the structural product observed from ahome viewpoint; receiving input to navigate the model to a part selectedfrom the plurality of parts, observation of the model being moved fromthe home viewpoint to a navigated viewpoint, the model at the navigatedviewpoint including information for the part selected from the pluralityof parts; generating a command string that includes informationspecifying the navigated viewpoint; and outputting the command string toa recorder configured to record the command string on at least one of aphysical medium or to an electronic document in which the command stringis thereby included, the command string including the informationspecifying the navigated viewpoint being in a machine-readable formatand capable of being machine-read from the physical medium or electronicdocument to automatically restore the model at the navigated viewpoint,wherein the report template is loadable and configured to automaticallypopulate with the information for the part of the plurality of parts inthe model at the navigated viewpoint.

In some example implementations of the method of the preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, the information specifying the navigated viewpoint ofthe model includes look-from, look-direction, up-direction, andfield-of-view values.

In some example implementations of the method of the preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, the command string including the information specifyingthe navigated viewpoint is in the machine-readable format of anautomatic identification and data capture (AIDC) technology, and whereinoutputting the command string includes outputting the command string tothe recorder compatible with the AIDC technology.

In some example implementations of the method of the preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, the information for the part of the plurality of partsincludes at least a name and location of the part in the structuralproduct, the name and location being retrievable from the model at thenavigated viewpoint based on a selected point and a part associated withthe selected point.

In some example implementations of the method of the preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, outputting the command string further includesoutputting an image of the model at the navigated viewpoint to therecorder that is configured to record the command string and the imageon the physical medium, or to the electronic document in which thecommand string and the image are thereby included, the command stringand the image being associated with one another on the physical mediumor in the electronic document.

In some example implementations of the method of the preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, the method further includes executing a softwarefunction including a user interface configured to load and display thereport template for the part of the plurality of parts selectable in themodel at the navigated viewpoint and automatically populate the reporttemplate with the information for the part of the plurality of parts atthe navigated viewpoint, the user interface also being configured topresent or accept information for a manufacturing, inspection,maintenance, or repair procedure that involves the part in order toproduce the report.

In some example implementations of the method of the preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, outputting the command string includes outputting thecommand string to the recorder configured to record the command stringon the physical medium that is or is affixed to a sheet of paper, andwherein the method further comprises grouping the sheet of paper andother sheets of paper on which other command strings are recorded, eachof the other command strings including information specifying arespective navigated viewpoint of the model to a respective part of theplurality of parts.

In some example implementations of the method of the preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, outputting the command string includes outputting thecommand string to an electronic page of the electronic document in whichthe command string is thereby included, and wherein the method furthercomprises composing the electronic document including the electronicpage and other electronic pages including other command strings, each ofthe other command strings including information specifying a respectivenavigated viewpoint of the model to a respective part of the pluralityof parts.

Some example implementations provide an apparatus comprising a processorand a memory storing executable instructions that, in response toexecution by the processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform themethod of any preceding example implementation, or any combination ofany preceding example implementations.

Some example implementations provide a computer-readable storage mediumthat is non-transitory and has computer-readable program code portionsstored therein that, in response to execution by a processor, cause anapparatus to at least perform the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be apparent from a reading of the following detaileddescription together with the accompanying drawings, which are brieflydescribed below. The present disclosure includes any combination of two,three, four or more features or elements set forth in this disclosure,regardless of whether such features or elements are expressly combinedor otherwise recited in a specific example implementation describedherein. This disclosure is intended to be read holistically such thatany separable features or elements of the disclosure, in any of itsaspects and example implementations, should be viewed as combinable,unless the context of the disclosure clearly dictates otherwise.

It will therefore be appreciated that this Brief Summary is providedmerely for purposes of summarizing some example implementations so as toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure.Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above described exampleimplementations are merely examples and should not be construed tonarrow the scope or spirit of the disclosure in any way. Other exampleimplementations, aspects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, theprinciples of some described example implementations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described example implementations of the disclosure ingeneral terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings,which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system according to example implementations of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a three-dimensional (3D) viewer displaying adigital 3D model of an aircraft in respectively home and navigatedviewpoints, according to example implementations;

FIG. 3A illustrates a physical medium including an embedded commandstring and screenshot image of the model at the navigated viewpointaccording to example implementations;

FIG. 3B illustrates an electronic document including a command stringand thumbnail image of the model at the navigated viewpoint according toexample implementations;

FIG. 4 illustrates a user interface (UI) displaying a 3D model of a partof an aircraft and a report template populated with information for thepart according to example implementations;

FIG. 5A illustrates a method according to some example implementations;

FIG. 5B illustrates a non-conformance (NC) use case according to someexample implementations; and

FIG. 6 illustrates an apparatus according to some exampleimplementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some implementations of the present disclosure will now be describedmore fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich some, but not all implementations of the disclosure are shown.Indeed, various implementations of the disclosure may be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theimplementations set forth herein; rather, these example implementationsare provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in theart. Furthermore, it should be understood that unless otherwisespecified, the terms “data,” “content,” “information,” and similar termsmay be at times used interchangeably. Like reference numerals refer tolike elements throughout.

Example implementations of the present disclosure relate generally tomanufacturing, inspection, maintenance and repair of a structuralproduct and, in particular, to a data acquisition and encoding processfor manufacturing, inspection, maintenance and repair of a structuralproduct. Example implementations will be primarily described inconjunction with aerospace applications in which the structural productis an aircraft. It should be understood, however, that exampleimplementations may be utilized in conjunction with a variety of otherapplications, both in the aerospace industry and outside of theaerospace industry. Other examples of suitable structural productsinclude any of a number of different types of vehicles, such asspacecraft, watercraft, motor vehicles, railed vehicles, buildings, andthe like. Another example implementation of the present disclosure is inthe medical field, where suitable structural products may includeorganic objects (e.g., the human body), medical equipment, medicalfacilities, patient information systems, and the like.

Some example implementations of the present disclosure provide a processin which digital information including three-dimensional (3D) location,part identification and/or task specific-information for a part of astructural product (e.g., aircraft) may be extracted from a 3D-enabledapplication program. This extracted information may be formatted asmachine-readable information and recorded on a physical medium or to anelectronic document, and be grouped with other extracted information ata point-of-use. The information may then be extracted from the physicalmedium or the electronic document later and used to return theapplication program to a known viewpoint and information representationstate, or used by another application program to store or transmit theinformation.

In some contexts, example implementations of the present disclosureallow the same user or a different user at the point-of-use to identifyan issue for a part of a structural product, locate and extract orotherwise machine-read the extracted information associated with thepart of the structural product in the physical medium or the electronicdocument at the point-of-use to return the application program to theknown viewpoint and information representation state associated with thepart of the structural product, and record the issue in a reporttemplate to generate a report. This capability may be useful in a numberof different contexts, such as aircraft manufacturing and maintenance,as well as other application programs using location data. This processenables application programs, such as viewers of models of structuralproducts, to be used on-site to capture, record, and receivepoint-of-use data more efficiently and with fewer mistakes.

Some other example implementations of the present disclosure provide aprocess that links together physical media or electronic documents anddigital information for use in application programs involvingmanufacturing, inspection, maintenance and/or repair. This process mayassist in documenting part removals and repairs utilizing athree-dimensional (3D) model of the structural product including theparts. The process may leverage the ability to display the model of afully-configured structural product such as a large commercial aircraftto enable rapid navigation through the digital environment to find partspecific information (e.g., a part name, part number, and 3D coordinatelocation of a part) for any physical instance of the part that needsrepair or removal at any level of a hierarchical part list (e.g.,detail, assembly, installation). A user interface of a 3D-enabledapplication program such a 3D viewer of models can be tailored fordifferent use cases to support the collection, review and/or validationof information to document the removal or repair. Validated informationmay be transferred into other information systems as desired. Theinformation captured may include command strings executable via a webbrowser, spreadsheet, or other suitable application to quickly restorethe viewpoint in the digital scene. And as introduced above, the processmay also support the creation of physical media in which themachine-readable information is a part of or affixed to the physicalmedia or a portion thereof and then grouped together (e.g., a binder) orcreation of electronic documents in which the machine-readableinformation is included in the electronic document or a portion thereofand composed (e.g., a webpage), and that may be read later to providequick access to pertinent information and to restore the known viewpointin the digital scene.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 according to example implementations ofthe present disclosure. The system may include any of a number ofdifferent subsystems (each an individual system) for performing one ormore functions or operations. As shown, for example, the system mayinclude one or more of each of a computer system 102A, B, recorder 104and reader 106. The system as shown includes two computer systems, oneof which is coupled to the recorder, and the other of which is coupledto the reader. It should be understood, that in some examples, a singlecomputer system may be coupled to both the recorder and reader.Moreover, although shown as part of the system, it should be understoodthat any of the computer system, recorder or reader may function oroperate as a separate system without regard to the others. It shouldalso be understood that the system may include one or more additional oralternative subsystems than those shown in FIG. 1.

As described in greater detail below, the computer system 102A, B may begenerally configured to execute one or more computer programs, includinga three-dimensional (3D) viewer 108 configured to render for display, adigital model 110 of a structural product composed of a plurality ofparts, such as a 3D computer-aided design (CAD) or other similar model(sometimes referred to as a solid model). The 3D viewer may render thedigital model in accordance with a number of techniques, such as thoseemployed by CAD viewers and other 3D visualization applications. Thesetypes of applications use a graphics engine, such as OpenGL or Direct3D,to render sequences of images representing the models contained within avirtual environment. Some examples include virtual reality modelinglanguage (VRML) viewers, X3D viewers, Java 3D viewers, QuickTime virtualreality (VR) or QTVR viewers, or the like.

In one example, the model 110 may represent the structural product as acollection of “primitives” such as edges, faces, points (e.g., vertices)and the like, which may be arranged into polygons or otherarithmetically-derived structures to represent the geometry of surfaces,volumes or parts of the respective structural product. The structuralproduct may be defined by a “boundary” representation, or collection ofpolygons that demarcate the space occupied by the structural product,which may include sub-collections of polygons that demarcate spacesoccupied by respective parts of the structural product. Each of thesesub-collections of polygons may be referred to as a 3D object thatcorresponds to part of the structural product in the model. For somestructural products, the model may use hundreds of thousands, millionsor even billions of polygons, which may be arranged in thousands ofsub-collections of polygons (3D objects) corresponding to severalthousands of parts.

The model 110 may include information that may indicate a design type ofthe model, such as a conceptual model, preliminary design, releaseddesign or the like. The model may include information (e.g., name,number, quantity, source, material, 3D location, related parts)regarding the structural product and/or one or more of its parts. Themodel may even further include additional information that in someexamples, with the model, may compose a model-based definition (MBD) ofthe structural product. For example, the model may include productmanufacturing information (PMI) such as geometric dimensions andtolerances (GD&T), material specifications, component lists, processspecifications, inspection requirements or the like. Additionally oralternatively, for example, the model may include information specifyingvarious manufacturing, inspection, maintenance and/or repair procedures,each of which may include one or more tasks involving (user) interactionwith one or more parts of the structural product. In various examples,this additional information may be provided directly in the model, or inmetadata associated with the model.

The 3D viewer 108 may be configured to render the digital model 110 ofthe structural product in a scene in which the digital model is observedfrom a particular point of view (or viewpoint). The 3D viewer may openor otherwise initially render the model observed from a home viewpoint,such as a viewpoint in which the whole of the structural product isobserved. The 3D viewer may then receive input to navigate the digitalmodel through a number of different operations such pan, tilt and/orzoom operations, which may move the viewpoint of the digital model fromits home to another viewpoint. In some examples, the input may be userinput to navigate to a specific digital model within the environment. Inother examples, the input may be automated input such as from varioustypes of location tracking, or semi-automated input such as from usersassisted with one or more sensors. Regardless of the particular type ofinput, in this manner, the scene may be focused on a part of thestructural product, or more particularly the 3D object corresponding toa part of the structural product. Information regarding the part mayalso be similarly acquired from the digital model or metadata associatedwith it. As introduced above, this information may include, for example,the name and/or number of the part, the 3D location of the part in thestructural product, information specifying procedure(s) involving thepart, and the like. As described herein, the 3D location of a part mayrefer to its 3D coordinate position and rotational orientation.

In accordance with example implementations of the present disclosure,the 3D viewer 108 may be further configured to extract the informationthat specifies the navigated (e.g., user-navigated) viewpoint of thedigital model, as well as information regarding the part on which therendered scene at that viewpoint is focused (e.g., name, number, 3Dlocation, procedure(s)), and generate a command string that includesthis extracted information. The 3D viewer may then output the commandstring to the recorder 104 configured to record the command string on atleast one of a physical medium 112A or to an electronic document 112B inwhich the command string is thereby included. The command string mayinclude extracted information that may be in a machine-readable format.As used herein, “machine-readable format” may include human-readabledata that is marked up so that it can be easily read by machines (e.g.,microformats, resource description framework in attributes (RDFa),hypertext markup language (HTML)) and/or machine-readable data intendedprincipally for processing by machines (e.g., resource descriptionframework (RDF), extensible markup language (XML), JavaScript ObjectNotation (JSON)).

In some other example implementations, the 3D viewer 108 may also outputthe rendered scene at that viewpoint to the recorder 104. The renderedscene may be in the format of an image of the model (e.g., screenshot)at the navigated viewpoint. In this manner, the recorder 104 may beconfigured to record the command string and the image on the physicalmedium 112A or the electronic document 112B in which the command stringand the image are thereby included. In some implementations, the commandstring and the image may be associated (e.g., grouped) with one anotheron the physical medium 112A or in the electronic document 112B so that auser may be able to visually associate the command string with theimage.

The particular format of the machine-readable information may differdepending on context, but may be according to any of a number ofdifferent automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) techniques.Examples of suitable AIDC techniques include barcode (linear or matrix),bokode, radio frequency identification (RFID) (passive, active orbattery-assisted passive RFID), magnetic stripes, optical characterrecognition (OCR), integrated circuit card (ICC) (contact orcontactless) and the like. In many of these formats, themachine-readable information is not in human-readable format; but for atleast OCR, the machine-readable information may be both inmachine-readable format and human-readable format.

The recorder 104 and manner in which the command string is recorded onthe physical medium 112A or electronic document 112B may likewise differdepending on the format of the machine-readable information. Asexplained in greater detail below, in some examples, the recorder 104may be a printer configured to print a barcode or OCR-interpretable textincluding the command string on the physical medium that is or isaffixed to (e.g., glued, taped, stapled, hung from) a sheet of paper.The “sheet of paper” as used herein may be any type of media on whichthe recorder 104 is capable of recording the command string inmachine-readable format. For example, the sheet of paper may be a sheetof material formed as a fiber-based product, a vellum, a parchment, acellulose acetate, and the like. In other examples, the recorder 104 maybe a RFID writer configured to write an RFID tag affixed to a sheet ofpaper, a magnetic strip encoder configured to encode a magnetic stripaffixed to a sheet of paper, or an ICC encoder configured to encode anembedded integrated circuit of an ICC affixed to or that may form thesheet of paper.

In some implementations, the system 100 is caused to group the sheet ofpaper and other sheets of paper on which the command string is recordedto or affixed thereon. For example, the physical medium 112A is aloose-leaf binder including sheets of paper each having one or morecommand string recorded thereon, each of the other command stringsincluding information specifying a respective navigated viewpoint of themodel to a respective part of the plurality of parts. An index, table ofcontents, or other reference provided with the physical medium 112A mayenable quick referral to each of the command strings provided therein.Other examples, of physical medium 112A may include a folio, a line-upof the sheets on a surface such as a wall or table, and the like.

The recorder 104 may also be a hypertext system configured to record(e.g., link) a hypertext or hyperlink including the command string to anelectronic page of the electronic document 112B. The “electronic page”may be a position in a webpage, a page of a word processing document, apage of a spreadsheet document, a page of a portable document format(PDF) document, a text editor file, and/or any other digitalrepresentation in which the recorder 104 is capable of recording thecommand string in machine-readable format. The hyperlink or hypertextmay be in the form of HTML code, XML linking language (XLink), etc.

In some implementations, the system 100 is caused to compose theelectronic document 112B including the electronic page and otherelectronic pages in which the command string is included. For example,the electronic document 112B is a word processing document includingelectronic pages each having one or more command string recordedthereon, each of the other command strings including informationspecifying a respective navigated viewpoint of the model to a respectivepart of the plurality of parts. An index, table of contents, or otherreference provided with the electronic document 112B may enable quickreferral to each of the command strings provided therein. Otherexamples, of electronic document 112B may include a webpage, aspreadsheet document, a PDF document, a text editor file, and/or anyother digital representation.

Regardless, the command string may then be carried by the physicalmedium 112A or the electronic document 112B for later retrieval ofinformation about the part from the physical medium 112A or theelectronic document 112B, such as at some point-of-use of the structuralproduct including the part, which may involve the reader 106.

The reader 106 may be configured to interface with a computer system 102B, or more particularly a software application, such as a 3D viewer 108of the computer system, to read and interpret the machine-readableinformation from the physical medium 112A or the electronic document112B. In certain embodiments, the reader 106 may employ AIDC technologysimilar to that employed by the recorder 104 to read themachine-readable information recorded on the physical medium 112A or inthe electronic document 112B, which again, may differ depending on theformat of the machine-readable information. For example, the reader maybe a barcode reader configured to read a barcode from a physical medium,a camera configured to record an image of OCR-interpretable text from aphysical medium, or an input device configured to click or tap thehypertext or hyperlink included at an electronic document. In otherexamples, the reader 106 may be a RFID reader configured to read an RFIDtag affixed to a physical medium, a magnetic strip reader configured toread a magnetic strip affixed to a physical medium, an ICC readerconfigured to read an embedded integrated circuit of an ICC affixed toor that may form a physical medium, or a caret configured to read ahyperlink or hypertext included in an electronic document. In otherembodiments, the reader 106 may employ AIDC technology different thanthat employed by the recorder 104.

The 3D viewer 108 and computer system 102B may be the same or differentfrom that which generated the command string, and interfaced with therecorder 104 to read the command string recorded on the physical medium112A or at the electronic document 112B. In some examples, the 3D viewermay be different but of the same type as that involved in generation ofthe command string, and configured to render the digital model 110 ofthe structural product including the part to which the informationpertains. The machine-readable information read from the physical medium112A or the electronic document 112B may include a navigated viewpointof the digital model, and the 3D viewer may automatically render thedigital model observed from the navigated viewpoint. Themachine-readable information may also include information for the partincluding, for example, the part's name, number and/or 3D location,and/or procedure(s) involving the part, which the 3D viewer may beconfigured to automatically display.

In addition to or in lieu of the 3D viewer 108, in some examples, thereader 106 may be configured to interface with one or more othercomputer programs 114 executable by the computer system 102B to read andinterpret the machine-readable information recorded on the physicalmedium 112A or at the electronic document 112B. In some examples, theother program(s) may provide respective software-based systems such asinformation systems, computer-aided design (CAD) systems, manufacturingexecution systems (MESs), building management systems, and the like.Examples of suitable information systems may include authority systemssuch as Reference Engineering Data Automated Retrieval System (REDARS).Other examples of suitable information systems may include transactionprocessing systems, office systems, decision support systems, knowledgemanagement systems, database management systems, office informationsystems. Yet other examples of suitable information systems may includedata warehouses, resource planning systems, enterprise systems, expertsystems, search engines, geographic information systems, globalinformation systems, office automation systems and the like.

In some examples, the information read from the physical medium 112A orthe electronic document 112B may be compressed or encoded. In theseexamples, the 3D viewer 108 or recorder 104 may be configured to performthe compression/encoding, and the reader 106 or 3D viewer 108 may beconfigured to perform the decompression/decoding. But encoding asformatted clear text, as described above, may allow users withgeneral-purpose devices with integrated cameras and scanningapplications (like those commonly available on smartphones) to capturethe encoded information recorded on the physical medium 112A or at theelectronic document 112B information as text and paste or otherwisetransfer that into a document or email. The data may also be stored inan encrypted format on the physical medium 112A or at the electronicdocument 112B that can be decrypted using an encryption key on thereceiving computer system 102B.

In some examples, color elements can be added to the physical medium112A or the electronic document 112B to help differentiate commandstrings, such as to allow the 3D viewer 108 to respond differently todifferent colors. In some examples in which the machine-readableinformation is printed, the machine-readable information may be printedusing an ink that is only revealed by ultraviolet (UV) light.

By encoding the viewpoint into the physical medium 112A or theelectronic document 112B, the 3D viewer 108 does not require a separatelocation tracking process to determine the appropriate viewpoint fromwhich to render the model. This approach also eliminates the need forrepeated searching and identifying parts and/or procedure information.The part name, number and/or 3D location included in the command stringmay be available for subsequent users to quickly scan (machine-read) andjump right to the part and automatically populate other application datafields. This may also reduce if not eliminate some of the mainbottlenecks in inspection and repair procedures.

Such application data fields may include a report template 116comprising a unique non-executable file format intended to be loaded bythe 3D viewer 108. The report template 116 may be generated by thecomputer system 102B and may be configured to be loaded at the samecomputer system 102B or a different computer system. In this manner, thegenerated report template 116 is usable to produce a formatted report toconvey information about a structural product or one or more of aplurality of parts thereof. Such information may include metadata oradditional information provided directly in the model, or in metadataassociated with the model, at the navigated viewpoint. As such, thereport template is loadable and configured to automatically populatewith the information for the part of the plurality of parts in the modelat the navigated viewpoint in order for a user who is the same ordifferent than the user generating the template, to report issuesconcerning the part.

To further illustrate example implementations of the present disclosure,FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a 3D viewer 200 and digital model 202 of anaircraft (structural product) that are suitable examples of respectivelythe 3D viewer 108 and digital model 110 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2A,the 3D viewer may open or otherwise initially render the model observedfrom a home viewpoint, such as a viewpoint in which the whole of theaircraft is observed. As shown in FIG. 2B, through navigation, theviewpoint of the model may move to focus the scene on a 3D object 204for a part of the aircraft, highlighted by the arrow in the centerelectronics module in FIG. 2B. In reference to FIG. 1, the 3D viewer mayextract information that specifies the navigated viewpoint, as well asinformation regarding the part, generate a command string that includesthis extracted information, and interface with the recorder 104 torecord the command string on a physical medium 112A or in an electronicdocument 112B.

To further illustrate examples of suitable physical media and electronicdocuments that may be produced in accordance with exampleimplementations of the present disclosure, reference is now made toFIGS. 3A and 3B, respectively each of which illustrates a command stringrecorded therein.

As shown in FIG. 3A, a physical medium 300 in the form of a loose-leafbinder is illustrated. The loose-leaf binder 300 includes sheets ofpaper 302 that are grouped together within the loose-leaf binder. Fourembedded command strings 304A-D are recorded (e.g., printed) inmachine-readable and human-readable format. Associated images 306A-D arealso recorded, respectively. For example, each of the command strings304A-D include a computer-readable matrix barcode 308A-D (as shown, forexample, a QRcode or Data Matrix code) and human-readable text 310A-D.The computer-readable matrix barcode 308A-D is a machine-readable formatof the command string and may contain information specifying thenavigated viewpoint that is the same as or different than theinformation readable by the human-readable text 310A-D. In theillustrated examples, the encoded data of the matrix barcode is storedin an American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format,which can then be interpreted by the 3D viewer 108 coupled to the reader106. Other formats may also be suitable, including markup languageformats such as XML that have defined field tags for each item.

The information readable from the human-readable text 310A-D shown inFIG. 3A may be, for example, information identifying a model of aircraftand location information.

Additionally, the associated images 306A-D may be an image of the modelat the navigated viewpoint that is associated with the command string304A-D, respectively. Like the command string 304A-D, the associatedimages 306A-D are configured to be output to the recorder, which is thenconfigured to record the command strings 304A-D and the images 306A-D onthe physical medium 300 such that they are clearly associated with oneanother. More particularly, the associated images 306A-D recorded on thephysical medium 300 act as visual references to the scene that users(e.g., mechanics) may be viewing in real-time. This allows those usersto identify the part at issue that they are looking for in real-time byutilizing the physical medium 300 to quickly navigate to the scene basedon the associated images 306A-D.

The reader 106 may be configured to read the computer-readable matrixbarcode 308A-D. Once read by the reader 106, the 3D viewer 108 mayinterpret the information included therewith to order to identify theformat to use for extraction of the ASCII data into appropriate internalvariables. In other implementations, other arrangements are possible,such as binary data. For example, information may specify the viewpoint,including plug coordinates in, for example, ten variables which may beselected from: three look-from values, three look-direction values,three up-direction values and a field-of-view value. Otherapplication-specific information that can be automatically interpretedby the 3D viewer, can also be included on the computer-readable matrixbarcode 308A-D.

As shown in FIG. 3B, an electronic document 312 in the form of a webpageis illustrated. The webpage 312 includes an electronic page 314 (e.g., aportion of the webpage) that is composed with other electronic pages(e.g., other portions of the webpage) including other command strings.On the electronic page 314 seven distinct command strings 316A-G areincluded (e.g., created) in machine-readable format. Associated images318A-G are also included (e.g., loaded), respectively. For example, eachof the command strings 316A-G includes hypertext that is inmachine-readable format and may contain information specifying thenavigated viewpoint. In the illustrated examples, the hypertext includesanchor text presented as a descriptor of the associated image 318A-G andembedded information specifying the navigated viewpoint (target). Theembedded information specifying the navigated viewpoint may betransferred in any number of ways. For example, the embedded informationmay be in hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) format, that may beautomatically detected upon selection thereof, and a suitable HTTP callexecuted. The HTTP format may then be interpreted by the 3D viewer 108coupled to the reader 106. Other formats may also be suitable, includingmarkup language formats such as XML that have defined field tags foreach item.

The hypertext 316A-G in FIG. 3B may include additional information asspecified by an application programming interface (API) of the 3D viewer108, and may be represented as follows:

-   -   316A: Overview    -   316B: Flight Deck    -   316C: Wheel Well    -   316D: Left Engine (front)    -   316E: Left Engine (side), MLG    -   316F: Left Wing Access Port    -   316G: Center Tank

Additionally, the associated images 318A-G may be a thumbnail image ofthe model at the navigated viewpoint that is associated with thehypertext, respectively Like the hypertext, the associated images 318A-Gare configured to be output to the recorder, which is then configured torecord the hypertext and the image 318A-G in the electronic document 312such that they are associated with one another. More particularly, theassociated images 318A-G recorded in the electronic document 312 act asvisual references to the scene that users (e.g., mechanics) may beviewing in real-time. This allows those users to identify the part atissue that they are looking for in real-time by utilizing the electronicdocument 312 to quickly navigate to the scene based on the associatedimages 318A-G.

The reader 106 may be configured to read (e.g., interpret) the hypertext316A-G. Once read by the reader 106, the 3D viewer 108 may interpret theinformation included therewith to identify the format to use forextraction of the data into appropriate internal variables. For example,information may specify the viewpoint, including plug coordinates in,for example, ten variables, which may be selected from: three look-fromvalues, three look-direction values, three up-direction values and afield-of-view value. Other application-specific information that can beautomatically interpreted by the 3D viewer with access to the tagformats, can also be included in the hypertext 316A-G.

As will be appreciated, example implementations of the presentdisclosure may have a number of different uses, and may be used to linkphysical media or electronic documents with digital information, such aspart names, numbers, 3D location, procedure(s) and other appropriatemanufacturing, inspection, maintenance and repair information. Exampleimplementations may leverage visualization of a digital model 110 of astructural product on a portable computer or other computer system 102A,B. The digital model may be manipulated to a navigated viewpoint tocoincide with a user's view of the physical instance such thatinformation associated with a physical instance of a part may beretrieved without knowing any more about that part than its location onthe structural product. A command string including informationspecifying the navigated viewpoint may be output and recorded on aphysical medium or to an electronic document, where the command stringmay contain pertinent machine-readable information (e.g., inmachine-readable format and/or human-readable format) to helpreestablish future digital visualization sessions. With the completeinformation of a part and its assembly available in the physical mediumor electronic document, a user may be able to identify an issue at thephysical instance of the part, scan the command string and automaticallyrestore the digital model at the navigated viewpoint. Therein, a reporttemplate may be loaded at the navigated viewpoint in the digital modeland automatically populated with the information for the part in themodel to produce a report during a procedure such as repair or removal.

In some example implementations, the report is produced from a reporttemplate 116. FIG. 4 illustrates a 3D viewer displaying a digital model400 at a navigated viewpoint for a part at issue, with the remaining 3Dparts of the digital model being outside of the viewing frustum, outsideof the clipping planes, or occluded by other parts. The user may executea software function from the 3D viewer, which may include a userinterface (UI) 402 (the UI at times simply referred to as the softwarefunction). In some examples, the software function and its UI may betailored to a particular use case (e.g., part removal on an in-serviceairplane, or NC in final assembly).

The user may select the part at issue from the digital model 400, whichmay cause the software function including the UI to be executed.Otherwise, the user may select the part at issue and then execute thesoftware function including the UI. The UI 402 is then configured toload and display the report template 404 (e.g., report template 116) atthe navigated viewpoint of the digital model 400.

The UI 402 may also automatically populate the report template 404 withthe information for the 3D part of the plurality of parts at thenavigated viewpoint. The UI 402 may also be configured to present oraccept information for the NC (or otherwise any other manufacturing,inspection, maintenance, or repair procedure) that involves the part inorder to produce the report. The user may be able to manually enter(e.g., cut-paste, type) in any additional information into one or morefields of the UI 402, such as a description of the issue (e.g., lengthor depth of a scratch or dent, gaps, fiber breakout, elongated holedimensions, and many other types of defects), current work location orwork instruction identifier. The software function may include anappropriate UI control to allow the user to copy information from theUI, which may then be transferred (e.g., pasted) into other appropriatesystems as desired or required. The report template may thereby collectinformation in a single place before producing the report.

Prior to producing the report, the user may validate that informationshown in the digital model 400 and automatically populated into thereport template is accurate in one or more engineering drawings or othertechnical documentation, such as may be provided by one or moreauthority systems (e.g., REDARS). This may be accomplished using link(s)or UI control(s) from the UI, which may cause display of the part ofinterest in the authority system(s). The user may also validate the NCis not already documented in an appropriate MES using link(s) from theUI that automatically display information dynamically retrieved from theauthority system showing the part and plans (shop order instance (SOI)of interest.

Example implementations may have applicability in a number of differentuse cases, including manufacturing, inspection, maintenance and/orrepair of a structural product such as an aircraft. Examples of suitableuse cases include airplane-on-ground (AOG), emergent removal (ER) andnon-conformance (NC). Other suitable examples include customer pickup,in-work assembly/disassembly and the like.

Leading into the example use cases, FIG. 5A illustrates a method forauthoring content for the physical medium or electronic document for usewith the 3D viewer. This method may be accomplished by an originalequipment manufacturer (OEM) subject matter expert who has knowledge ofthe model viewer and is able to easily navigate therethrough. The methodof FIG. 5A may be performed for any use case including AOG, ER, and NC,as well as other similar use cases.

In FIG. 5A, at a first step 502, authoring of content may includegenerating a report template usable to produce a report to conveyinformation about a structural product or one or more of a plurality ofparts thereof. In a second step 504, authoring of content may alsoinclude rendering for display a model of the structural product observedfrom a home viewpoint. In a third step 506, the authoring of content mayalso include receiving input to navigate the model to a part selectedfrom the plurality of parts, observation of the model being moved fromthe home viewpoint to a navigated viewpoint, the model at the navigatedviewpoint including information for the part selected from the pluralityof parts. In a fourth step 508, the authoring of content may furtherinclude generating a command string that includes information specifyingthe navigated viewpoint. In a fifth step 510, authoring of content maystill further include outputting the command string to a recorderconfigured to record the command string on at least one of a physicalmedium or to an electronic document in which the command string isthereby included, the command string including the informationspecifying the navigated viewpoint being in a machine-readable formatand capable of being machine-read from the physical medium or electronicdocument to automatically restore the model at the navigated viewpoint.

As shown in FIG. 5B, various aspects of an example NC use case 512 areillustrated, which may similarly have applicability to other use casesaccording to example implementations of the present disclosure. The NCuse case 512 begins after the method illustrated in FIG. 5A. Forexample, in the NC use case 512, in a first step 514, a user (e.g.,mechanic) working on a physical instance of a structural product (e.g.,aircraft) may cause or find an NC with a part of the structural product,which may require documentation before work can continue. In a secondstep 516, the user may utilize the physical medium or electronicdocument to identify an image of the model at a navigated viewpoint. Theimage may be associated with a command string, which enables a user tovisually identify the part of the structural product for which the NChas been caused or found within the physical medium or electronicdocument and scan or otherwise machine-read, using a reader 106, thecommand string to automatically restore the digital model 110 to thenavigated viewpoint within a 3D viewer 108 at a computer system 102B. Ina third step 518, within the 3D viewer 108, the user may be able to loada report template 116, which is populated with information for the partselected from the plurality of parts in order to generate a report ofthe NC.

In a fourth step 520, another user (e.g., quality assurance (QA)) mayverify the accuracy of the report and the NC and record the informationfor processing. The information may be recorded in another report thatmay be stored thereafter. In some implementations, the reports areeasily retrievable from the stored locations, while in others,controlled access/restrictions may be implemented depending on the useraccessing the information.

In a fifth step 522, the command strings for each part of the pluralityof parts recorded in the physical medium or electronic document may thenbe grouped or composed for delivery to customers. The grouping may be inthe form of a maintenance manual or other reference guide for customers'use.

In a sixth step 524, another user (e.g., customer mechanic) finds orcauses a NC with a part of the structural product. The user selects apoint (e.g., a selected point) which also selects a part associated withthe selected point (e.g., a selected part). Accordingly, in a seventhstep 526, the user may utilize the physical medium or electronicdocument to identify an image of the model at a navigated viewpoint. Theimage may be associated with a command string, which enables a user tovisually identify the part of the structural product for which the NChas been caused or found within the physical medium or electronicdocument and scan or otherwise machine-read, using a reader 106, thecommand string to automatically restore the digital model 110 to thenavigated viewpoint within a 3D viewer 108 at a computer system 102B. Inan eighth step 528, within the 3D viewer 108, the user may be able toload a report template 116, which is populated with information for thepart selected from the plurality of parts in order to generate a reportof the NC. In some example implementations, the user may note thepreviously reported NC for that part.

Example implementations of the present disclosure may enable users of 3Dviewers to create a link between physical media or electronic documentsand virtual environments, as well as a link between data systems.Example implementations may be useful in a number of applications, bothin the aerospace industry and outside of the aerospace industry. Evenfurther, example implementations may be useful in conjunction withconsumer-level applications that involve a physical object with aparticular 2D or 3D location, a 3D visualization application, and objectdata. Examples of suitable consumer-level applications include thosethat involve integration of the physical with the virtual, such as thoseinvolving the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing and the like.Example implementations may provide an easy to use pathway formachine-to-machine communication that these and other suitableapplications could leverage.

One particular example of a consumer-level application involves videogames that use physical locations and 3D graphics. Navigation data andlocation specific-information that is stored in a compact, inexpensive,machine-readable form may provide a solution for tracking and dataexchange that is easy to create and use. Example implementations mayalso be appropriate for shoppers in large stores or warehouses,particularly in instances in which models of the buildings are madeavailable. Museum virtual tours and theme park interactive “experiences”with some interactive types of scanning capabilities could be extendedwith location and session specific data to control a corresponding 3Dvirtual environment, according to example implementations of the presentdisclosure.

According to example implementations of the present disclosure, computersystem 102A, B may be implemented by various means. Means forimplementing the computer system may include hardware alone, or hardwareunder direction of one or more computer programs from acomputer-readable storage medium. In some examples, one or moreapparatuses may be configured to function as or otherwise implement thecomputer system. In examples involving more than one apparatus, therespective apparatuses may be connected to or otherwise in communicationwith one another in a number of different manners, such as directly orindirectly via a wired or wireless network or the like.

FIG. 6 illustrates an apparatus 600 that may implement the computersystem 102A, B, according to some example implementations of the presentdisclosure. Generally, an apparatus of example implementations of thepresent disclosure may comprise, include or be embodied in one or morefixed or portable electronic devices. Examples of suitable electronicdevices include a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktopcomputer, workstation computer, smart watch, head-mounted display orother wearable displays, server computer, or the like. The apparatus mayinclude one or more of each of a number of components such as, forexample, a processor 602 (e.g., processor unit) connected to a memory604 (e.g., storage device).

The processor 602 is generally any piece of computer hardware that iscapable of processing information such as, for example, data, computerprograms (e.g., 3D viewer 108, other computer program(s) 114), and/orother suitable electronic information. The processor is composed of acollection of electronic circuits some of which may be packaged as anintegrated circuit or multiple interconnected integrated circuits (anintegrated circuit at times more commonly referred to as a “chip”). Theprocessor may be configured to execute computer programs, which may bestored onboard the processor or otherwise stored in the memory 604 (ofthe same or another apparatus).

The processor 602 may be a number of processors, a multi-processor coreor some other type of processor, depending on the particularimplementation. Further, the processor may be implemented using a numberof heterogeneous processor systems in which a main processor is presentwith one or more secondary processors on a single chip. As anotherillustrative example, the processor may be a symmetric multi-processorsystem containing multiple processors of the same type. In yet anotherexample, the processor may be embodied as or otherwise include one ormore application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs),field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or the like. Thus, although theprocessor may be capable of executing a computer program to perform oneor more functions, the processor of various examples may be capable ofperforming one or more functions without the aid of a computer program.

The memory 604 is generally any piece of computer hardware that iscapable of storing information such as, for example, data, computerprograms (e.g., computer-readable program code 606) and/or othersuitable information either on a temporary basis and/or a permanentbasis. The memory may include volatile and/or non-volatile memory, andmay be fixed or removable. Examples of suitable memory include randomaccess memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard drive, a flashmemory, a thumb drive, a removable computer diskette, an optical disk, amagnetic tape or some combination of the above. Optical disks mayinclude compact disk—read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk—read/write(CD-R/W), DVD or the like. In various instances, the memory may bereferred to as a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readablestorage medium is a non-transitory device capable of storinginformation, and is distinguishable from computer-readable transmissionmedia such as electronic transitory signals capable of carryinginformation from one location to another. Computer-readable medium asdescribed herein may generally refer to a computer-readable storagemedium or computer-readable transmission medium.

In addition to the memory 604, the processor 602 may also be connectedto one or more interfaces for displaying, transmitting and/or receivinginformation. The interfaces may include a communications interface 608(e.g., communications unit) and/or one or more user interfaces. Thecommunications interface may be configured to transmit and/or receiveinformation, such as to and/or from other apparatus(es), network(s) orthe like. The communications interface may be configured to transmitand/or receive information by physical (wired) and/or wirelesscommunications links. Examples of suitable communication interfacesinclude a network interface controller (NIC), wireless NIC (WNIC) or thelike.

The user interfaces may include a display 610 and/or one or moreinput/output (I/O) interfaces 612 (e.g., input/output unit). The displaymay be configured to present or otherwise display information to a user,suitable examples of which include a liquid crystal display (LCD),light-emitting diode display (LED), plasma display panel (PDP) or thelike. The I/O interfaces may be wired or wireless, and may be configuredto receive information from a user into the apparatus, such as forprocessing, storage and/or display. Suitable examples of I/O interfacesinclude a microphone, image or video capture device, keyboard or keypad,joystick, touch-sensitive surface (separate from or integrated into atouchscreen), biometric sensor or the like. The user interfaces mayfurther include one or more interfaces for communicating withperipherals such as printers, scanners or the like.

As indicated above, program code instructions may be stored in memory,and executed by a processor, to implement functions of the systems,subsystems, tools and their respective elements described herein. Aswill be appreciated, any suitable program code instructions may beloaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus from acomputer-readable storage medium to produce a particular machine, suchthat the particular machine becomes a means for implementing thefunctions specified herein. These program code instructions may also bestored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer,a processor or other programmable apparatus to function in a particularmanner to thereby generate a particular machine or particular article ofmanufacture. The instructions stored in the computer-readable storagemedium may produce an article of manufacture, where the article ofmanufacture becomes a means for implementing functions described herein.The program code instructions may be retrieved from a computer-readablestorage medium and loaded into a computer, processor or otherprogrammable apparatus to configure the computer, processor or otherprogrammable apparatus to execute operations to be performed on or bythe computer, processor or other programmable apparatus.

Retrieval, loading and execution of the program code instructions may beperformed sequentially such that one instruction is retrieved, loadedand executed at a time. In some example implementations, retrieval,loading and/or execution may be performed in parallel such that multipleinstructions are retrieved, loaded, and/or executed together. Executionof the program code instructions may produce a computer-implementedprocess such that the instructions executed by the computer, processoror other programmable apparatus provide operations for implementingfunctions described herein.

Execution of instructions by a processor, or storage of instructions ina computer-readable storage medium, supports combinations of operationsfor performing the specified functions. In this manner, an apparatus 600may include a processor 602 and a computer-readable storage medium ormemory 604 coupled to the processor, where the processor is configuredto execute computer-readable program code 606 stored in the memory. Itwill also be understood that one or more functions, and combinations offunctions, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computersystems and/or processors which perform the specified functions, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and program code instructions.

Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which thedisclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing description and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specificimplementations disclosed and that modifications and otherimplementations are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing description and theassociated drawings describe example implementations in the context ofcertain example combinations of elements and/or functions, it should beappreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions maybe provided by alternative implementations without departing from thescope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, differentcombinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitlydescribed above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of theappended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising a processor and a memorystoring executable instructions that in response to execution by theprocessor cause the apparatus to at least: generate a report templateusable to produce a report to convey information about a structuralproduct or one or more of a plurality of parts thereof, wherein theinformation for the part of the plurality of parts includes at least aname and location of the part in the structural product, the name andlocation being retrievable from the model at the navigated viewpointbased on a selected point and a part associated with the selected point;render for display, a model of the structural product observed from ahome viewpoint; receive input to navigate the model to a part selectedfrom the plurality of parts, observation of the model being moved fromthe home viewpoint to a navigated viewpoint, the model at the navigatedviewpoint including information for the part selected from the pluralityof parts; generate a command string that includes information specifyingthe navigated viewpoint; and output the command string to a recorderconfigured to record the command string on at least one of a physicalmedium or to an electronic document in which the command string isthereby included, the command string including the informationspecifying the navigated viewpoint being in a machine-readable formatand capable of being machine-read from the physical medium or electronicdocument to automatically restore the model at the navigated viewpoint,wherein the report template is loadable and configured to automaticallypopulate with the information for the part of the plurality of parts inthe model at the navigated viewpoint.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the information specifying the navigated viewpoint of the modelincludes look-from, look-direction, up-direction, and field-of-viewvalues.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the command stringincluding the information specifying the navigated viewpoint is in themachine-readable format of an automatic identification and data capture(AIDC) technology, and wherein the apparatus being caused to output thecommand string includes being caused to output the command string to therecorder compatible with the AIDC technology.
 4. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the apparatus being caused to output the command stringfurther includes being caused to output an image of the model at thenavigated viewpoint to the recorder that is configured to record thecommand string and the image on the physical medium, or to theelectronic document in which the command string and the image arethereby included, the command string and the image being associated withone another on the physical medium or in the electronic document.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is further caused to executea software function including a user interface configured to load anddisplay the report template for the part of the plurality of partsselectable in the model at the navigated viewpoint and automaticallypopulate the report template with the information for the part of theplurality of parts at the navigated viewpoint, the user interface alsobeing configured to present or accept information for a manufacturing,inspection, maintenance, or repair procedure that involves the part inorder to produce the report.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theapparatus being caused to output the command string includes beingcaused to output the command string to the recorder configured to recordthe command string on the physical medium that is or is affixed to asheet of paper, and wherein the apparatus is further caused to group thesheet of paper and other sheets of paper on which other command stringsare recorded, each of the other command strings including informationspecifying a respective navigated viewpoint of the model to a respectivepart of the plurality of parts.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theapparatus being caused to output the command string includes beingcaused to output the command string to an electronic page of theelectronic document in which the command string is thereby included, andwherein the apparatus is further caused to compose the electronicdocument including the electronic page and other electronic pagesincluding other command strings, each of the other command stringsincluding information specifying a respective navigated viewpoint of themodel to a respective part of the plurality of parts.
 8. A methodcomprising: generating a report template usable to produce a report toconvey information about a structural product or one or more of aplurality of parts thereof, wherein the information for the part of theplurality of parts includes at least a name and location of the part inthe structural product, the name and location being retrievable from themodel at the navigated viewpoint based on a selected point and a partassociated with the selected point; rendering for display, a model ofthe structural product observed from a home viewpoint; receiving inputto navigate the model to a part selected from the plurality of parts,observation of the model being moved from the home viewpoint to anavigated viewpoint, the model at the navigated viewpoint includinginformation for the part selected from the plurality of parts;generating a command string that includes information specifying thenavigated viewpoint; and outputting the command string to a recorderconfigured to record the command string on at least one of a physicalmedium or to an electronic document in which the command string isthereby included, the command string including the informationspecifying the navigated viewpoint being in a machine-readable formatand capable of being machine-read from the physical medium or electronicdocument to automatically restore the model at the navigated viewpoint,wherein the report template is loadable and configured to automaticallypopulate with the information for the part of the plurality of parts inthe model at the navigated viewpoint.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe information specifying the navigated viewpoint of the model includeslook-from, look-direction, up-direction, and field-of-view values. 10.The method of claim 8, wherein the command string including theinformation specifying the navigated viewpoint is in themachine-readable format of an automatic identification and data capture(AIDC) technology, and wherein outputting the command string includesoutputting the command string to the recorder compatible with the AIDCtechnology.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein outputting the commandstring further includes outputting an image of the model at thenavigated viewpoint to the recorder that is configured to record thecommand string and the image on the physical medium, or to theelectronic document in which the command string and the image arethereby included, the command string and the image being associated withone another on the physical medium or in the electronic document. 12.The method of claim 8, further comprising executing a software functionincluding a user interface configured to load and display the reporttemplate for the part of the plurality of parts selectable in the modelat the navigated viewpoint and automatically populate the reporttemplate with the information for the part of the plurality of parts atthe navigated viewpoint, the user interface also being configured topresent or accept information for a manufacturing, inspection,maintenance, or repair procedure that involves the part in order toproduce the report.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein outputting thecommand string includes outputting the command string to the recorderconfigured to record the command string on the physical medium that isor is affixed to a sheet of paper, and wherein the method furthercomprises grouping the sheet of paper and other sheets of paper on whichother command strings are recorded, each of the other command stringsincluding information specifying a respective navigated viewpoint of themodel to a respective part of the plurality of parts.
 14. The method ofclaim 8, wherein outputting the command string includes outputting thecommand string to an electronic page of the electronic document in whichthe command string is thereby included, and wherein the method furthercomprises composing the electronic document including the electronicpage and other electronic pages including other command strings, each ofthe other command strings including information specifying a respectivenavigated viewpoint of the model to a respective part of the pluralityof parts.
 15. A computer-readable storage medium that is non-transitoryand has computer-readable program code portions stored therein that, inresponse to execution by a processor, cause an apparatus to at least:generate a report template usable to produce a report to conveyinformation about a structural product or one or more of a plurality ofparts thereof, wherein the information for the part of the plurality ofparts includes at least a name and location of the part in thestructural product, the name and location being retrievable from themodel at the navigated viewpoint based on a selected point and a partassociated with the selected point; render for display, a model of thestructural product observed from a home viewpoint; receive input tonavigate the model to a part selected from the plurality of parts,observation of the model being moved from the home viewpoint to anavigated viewpoint, the model at the navigated viewpoint includinginformation for the part selected from the plurality of parts; generatea command string that includes information specifying the navigatedviewpoint; and output the command string to a recorder configured torecord the command string on at least one of a physical medium or to anelectronic document in which the command string is thereby included, thecommand string including the information specifying the navigatedviewpoint being in a machine-readable format and capable of beingmachine-read from the physical medium or electronic document toautomatically restore the model at the navigated viewpoint, wherein thereport template is loadable and configured to automatically populatewith the information for the part of the plurality of parts in the modelat the navigated viewpoint.
 16. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 15, wherein the information specifying the navigated viewpoint ofthe model includes look-from, look-direction, up-direction, andfield-of-view values.
 17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim15, wherein the command string including the information specifying thenavigated viewpoint is in the machine-readable format of an automaticidentification and data capture (AIDC) technology, and wherein theapparatus being caused to output the command string includes beingcaused to output the command string to the recorder compatible with theAIDC technology.
 18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15,wherein the apparatus being caused to output the command string furtherincludes being caused to output an image of the model at the navigatedviewpoint to the recorder that is configured to record the commandstring and the image on the physical medium, or to the electronicdocument in which the command string and the image are thereby included,the command string and the image being associated with one another onthe physical medium or in the electronic document.
 19. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, having furthercomputer-readable program code portions stored therein that, in responseto execution by the processor, cause the apparatus to further at least:execute a software function including a user interface configured toload and display the report template for the part of the plurality ofparts selectable in the model at the navigated viewpoint andautomatically populate the report template with the information for thepart of the plurality of parts at the navigated viewpoint, the userinterface also being configured to present or accept information for amanufacturing, inspection, maintenance, or repair procedure thatinvolves the part in order to produce the report.
 20. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the apparatusbeing caused to output the command string includes being caused tooutput the command string to the recorder configured to record thecommand string on the physical medium that is or is affixed to a sheetof paper, and having further computer-readable program code portionsstored therein that, in response to execution by the processor, causethe apparatus to further at least: group the sheet of paper and othersheets of paper on which other command strings are recorded, each of theother command strings including information specifying a respectivenavigated viewpoint of the model to a respective part of the pluralityof parts.
 21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, whereinthe apparatus being caused to output the command string includes beingcaused to output the command string to an electronic page of theelectronic document in which the command string is thereby included, andhaving further computer-readable program code portions stored thereinthat, in response to execution by the processor, cause the apparatus tofurther at least: compose the electronic document including theelectronic page and other electronic pages including other commandstrings, each of the other command strings including informationspecifying a respective navigated viewpoint of the model to a respectivepart of the plurality of parts.